Bikes are locked together using the lock, in my garage, but I haven't seen the key since Thursday, can't find the spare, if I have one. I can't remember the brand name, but I'm pretty sure it was a pretty decent one sold by On-one about a decade ago, 12/13mm long shackle currently around two top tubes, so fairly accessible.
Grinder? Hammer? G-clamp? Saws?
Think like scrote. Angle grinder with cutting disk.
Sit down. Cup o tea, think very hard where you last had the key or where you pot(s) of old / spare keys are.
Quickest way to find the keys is order an Angle Grinder online, the key will turn up 30s after its delivered!
What's the lock type and where are you?
Which after a bit of Google, looks suspiciously similar to the Rolson branded cheapies on Amazon.
"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BLRQXBL/"
Locks are cheap (ish)
Writing off 2 bikes is expensive.
Order an angle grinder off amazon, the keys will turn up 30s after you cut the lock off.
Can you rent angle grinders ?
Just ask your local bike thief to use their cordless Makita on it. 30 seconds max.
Or, check YouTube for how to pick the lock. It might be a really easy one. Check Lock Picking Lawyer for relevant videos.
I’d try a hacksaw first and then get the grinder out when I get tired.
Cordless angle grinder. The shackle will last 45 seconds tops.
As you just finish cutting you will remember where the key is.
Obviously you will want a new lock and the operation above will probably scare you into upping your security somehow into the bargain.
If you've got room to get it in there a scissor jack will crack it open.
Probably likely that tooled up stwer is local to you. Borrow a grinder.
Where in the world are you? Must be someone local with a grinder. If you are near Mansfield I'll do it for you.
Plain old hand powered hacksaw. Should take you ages. Think of it as a form of punishment.
In that time you can use it to remind yourself of how silly you've been so as to misplace the key and endeavour not to make the same mistake ever again.
Make sure you protect the bikes if you grind it off.
use it as an excuse to buy an angle grinder AND GOGGLES! it makes the job much easier if you can jam something in there like a large piece of wood and clamp the lock to it so it doesn't move. Make sure to keep the grinder to the side of you to limit where the bits are likely to directly hit if the disk breaks
Or ask a pal. I've cut two locks off for friends now when things have gone wrong. It really doesn't take long but it is the most scary tool I own. There are YouTube vids on how to use it safely
Plain old hand powered hacksaw
Isn't a bad idea really. If it's a crappy lock it will still take a while but not forever
Success!
Scissor jack from the MX5 had plenty of room to get in and it only took about eight turns on tension to pop it.
Is it me or is the key in the lock?
Lol!
kendonagasaki
Full Member
Is it me or is the key in the lock?
Not just you.
Is it me or is the key in the lock?
Yes.
Also clearly none of you have owned a shit D lock, I'd have just taken a hammer to the ****er.
Random key from "tin of random keys to try on the off chance it works" is in the lock, tried a few dozen, only a couple would even go in.
Brilliant
And that lock really does look a bit crap
Bolt cutters will get through that, if you have fairly strong arms. Less likely to damage the bikes.
I don’t know about angle grinders, I reckon you could get through that lock with a strongly worded email
12 or 13mm shackle is bolt croppable. Must be a really sh*t locl to pop it with a scissor Jack. Grinder would also have flown through that.
If you want a reasonably priced but decent ish lock then I’d recommend an OnGuard Brute. Over 16mm shackle won’t give up to bolt croppers or a scissor Jack. Sensibly prices for what it is. Grinder will go through any lock but needs 2 cuts on a shackle that thick so at least a couple of minutes.
Top job. Now put the jack back in the MX-5, go on, right now. 😉
Check the spare and wheelbrace while you're there 🙂
My bikes are locked together in the shed with one of these mothers. It weighs about 5 times as much as the combined weight of the bikes. You’ll not be making much of an impact on it with a scissor Jack or a set of bolt croppers. If I ever lose the key, then I suspect they’ll be destined to stay in there for ever 😂
A friend of mine had a couple of very expensive locks on his very expensive bikes.
Some scroats broke into his garage and set upon destroying the locks so they could steal the bikes. The locks did their job and stopped them but in the process the scroats damaged the bikes and we think in their temper purposely damaged them too.
They then got spooked and legged it.
He reported it to the insurance company they said your bikes are only covered for theft and not damage so they couldn't help him. Both frames were a write off and a couple of wheels. They even scratched the stanctions with the grinder.
In the end he said he would have been better off if they had stolen the bikes. The worst part was just being in a locked garage was enough security for the insurance company.
Great suggestion for the scissor jack, I would never have thought to use that. 👍
If I'd have posted earlier I would have asked you to film it but perhaps better to not publish how effective it is on YouTube
I bought a new york kryptonite chain lock.
Didn’t read the specs properly, ended up with a 6ft long chain that weighs more than the bike it’s securing.
Asked a mechanic mate if he could do anything, namely cut the ****er in half.
So he used a battery angle grinder. Took less than a minute to cut.
So now, instead of a lock that’s too heavy, i have 2 locks I don’t trust.
I get round it by doing what I’ve always done, I don’t leave my bike anywhere.
Please try this. Would love to know if it works.
They then got spooked and legged it.
He reported it to the insurance company they said your bikes are only covered for theft and not damage so they couldn’t help him. Both frames were a write off and a couple of wheels. They even scratched the stanctions with the grinder.
That’s awful. Do you know the name of the insurer?
So now, instead of a lock that’s too heavy, i have 2 locks I don’t trust
To be honest, I think if someone turns up with an angle grinder then all bets are off anyway, whatever the lock is.
I’m like you in that I don’t leave my bikes out of my sight, but given that most thieves are opportunists, rather than pro’s, just buy the biggest, meatiest ****-off lock you can to act as a deterrent for as long as possible
X2 for the OnGuard Brute, I don't own one but they are highly regarded and about half the price of the equivalent Kryptonite.
If I’d have posted earlier I would have asked you to film it but perhaps better to not publish how effective it is on YouTube
Why? Scroats already know what a good or bad lock looks like and how flimsy the latter are.
12 or 13mm shackle is bolt croppable
Yeah, but only with a 3 foot set of croppers. They do cut due to the pivoting action, but you need a fair bit of arm strength to do so and a small set will be nigh on impossible
Please try this. Would love to know if it works.
You could shim that lock in about three seconds.
I think it might have been one of William Gibson’s books where it’s suggested that a Volvo bottle jack will fit in the gap and prize it open, but you’ve neatly preemptively found your own similar solution. And I’m loving the idea that it’s an MX-5 jack! Sir, I like your style! 🎩
squirrelking
Free MemberX2 for the OnGuard Brute, I don’t own one but they are highly regarded and about half the price of the equivalent Kryptonite.
Aye, they are ridiculously good for the money. Not brilliant for outside use though, the lock isn't as corrosion resistant as it probably ought to be... But other'n that they're just a lot of metal for the money. And come with multiple keys for the OP
I reckon you could get through that lock with a strongly worded email
Ooh, cutting!
Not brilliant for outside use though, the lock isn’t as corrosion resistant as it probably ought to be…
Ah, good to know!
I just found my spare D lock key in a box of audio cables. So if you've got a similar box, could try looking there?
When browsing the middle of Lidl, I noticed they were selling battery angle grinders for £20.
On the subject of D-locks, came across this photo on the local stolen bikes FB page...
Amazed the lock held....
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52934800808_775cf8b7b4_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52934800808_775cf8b7b4_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2oDEG4s ]D-lock twist[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr
On the subject of security, how secure are cable locks? I've been using a kind of heavy duty one for years out and about because I can wrap it round my waist like a belt. Just wondering how good they are. It's for 'nipping into shops' duties rather than leaving it locked up somewhere.
Like this but prob about 18mm
8/9 years ago I popped down to the precinct to do a quick food shop in Sainsburys, locking up a cheap (albeit decent looking for its age due to lack of use by better half) Saracen Zena2 MTB with one of those freebie Center Parcs locks. It was market day, so loads of people around, should be fine... Less than two minutes in the aisles and a member of staff comes up to me to say a teenage scroute cycled up, took out a pair of cutters and snipped the cable like it was paper.
If I pop down the preceinct these days on a bike, the Abus (Granite X?) "gold" lock gets used, if I pop to the garage I'll risk another CP cable lock.
Huh, thought as much. Guess I've just been lucky.
On the subject of security, how secure are cable locks
You might as well tie it up with a piece of string
You can get through most of them with some fruity language and a withering stare
😁
Binnerette number 2 is out and about on her bike quite a bit and for when she has to leave it locked up I’ve got her One of these
Much better than a cable lock and doesn’t weigh the same as a car
Cable locks will only deter the most opportunistic thief. They're perfect to whip through with sharpened bolt cutters because you can easily position them in the jaws.
Ever since Aldi and Lidl have started knocking out battery grinders for £20-£25, in particular, it has to be as much about being smart as having the best lock.
And you can actually buy, kosher, bolt croppers with folding handles! Perfect for concealment, because obviously legit users of bolt croppers often need to conceal them, right?
Crazy.
jambourgie
Free MemberOn the subject of security, how secure are cable locks?
Security at my work had 2 tools for cutting bike locks- a grinder, and a pair of really good scissors, which dealt with most cable locks.
And you can actually buy, kosher, bolt croppers with folding handles! Perfect for concealment, because obviously legit users of bolt croppers often need to conceal them, right?
But you can't carry a penknife which you can use safely without risk of it snapping on your fingers.
It's well out of my area of expertise but I think in a fight I'd rather 'go equipped' with the bolt crops.
^^^
I hadn't really thought of the relative merits of them for lamping someone.
It just defies logic that anyone bolt cropping legitimately would want them concealed - except perhaps police. Bailiffs need to advertise their presence and someone just cropping a padlock because they've lost their key wouldn't walk up to their own padlock with the croppers tucked into a jacket.
I use the same Kryptonite. I think one of the benefits is that if you do have to angle grind them, you need two cuts as the shackle won’t rotate to remove with just one cut. I also use a lassoo cable that has to pass through the front two wheels of the trike and back to the D lock. But most of the time I never leave a bike - work excepted as it’s highly secure.
Ooh, cutting!
I thought it was a very abrasive comment. I mean, the shear rudeness of it.
moimoifan
Free MemberAnd you can actually buy, kosher, bolt croppers with folding handles! Perfect for concealment, because obviously legit users of bolt croppers often need to conceal them, right?
Yeah but they're not for concealment, that's just a side effect- they fold up for the same reason just about everything else folks up, to make them easier to carry and store.
If its a replacement you're after I can recommend the Abus Bordo granit Xplus 6500
U locks are good, but if a pole or something you want to lock it to is really wide, you cant. At least the folding type fits round just about everything.
Im thinking of buying another, the alarmed version if I ever have to lock it in the city center, just for that extra bit of security.
There’s always the option of one of these:
Replacing the lock with another one of similar quality is probably the best option imo, in case the OP loses the keys again.
The gap between locking your bike in the garage and wanting to access it can be many days, which can make finding keys that you might have mislaid particularly difficult.
Edit: I would expect a thief who breaks into a garage and is tooled up to overcome a lower quality lock to also be able to deal with a higher quality lock.
Obviously, I’m not a bike thief but bottle-jacks work well with several locks.
Boring fire safety point: clear combustible stuff away from the spark spray if you're angle grinding in your garage, and go back at intervals afterwards for an hour afterwards to check nothing's smouldering/smoking underneath your washing machine or in a box of pads and bikepacking nylon.
Wrecking a frame trying to get your bike free from a lock is one thing, burning your garage/house down is a level up.
ernielynch
Full MemberEdit: I would expect a thief who breaks into a garage and is tooled up to overcome a lower quality lock to also be able to deal with a higher quality lock.
Not actually the case- basically, the generallevel of bike security is so low that a lot of thieves won't bother with heavier duty tools, they'll just move on and find an easier to nick bike. The majority of bike thieves when caught have only relatively basic tools, even now. (there's probably a self selection thing there, good thieves with good kit are probably less likely to get caught, but it still proves the point).
That'd change, no doubt, if most people had good locks but so many people don't lock their bikes at all, and so many that do use crap locks (either because they settled for crap, or because they were sold crap but thought it was good because it was expensive and had all the bullshit certificates like sold secure gold etc).
I wouldn't worry, you'll be arrested for locking your bike up in an offensive manner 🙂
(page 5, para 11 and 12)
and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-order-bill-overarching-documents/public-order-bill-factsheet
The majority of bike thieves when caught have only relatively basic tools, even now. (there’s probably a self selection thing there, good thieves with good kit are probably less likely to get caught, but it still proves the point).
Also expensive tools tend not to be something you want to potentially be throwing away in a hurry.
i use this in the bike shed.
https://securityforbikes.com/proddetail.php?prod=P22RL-x.x-RoundLock
they’ll just move on and find an easier to nick bike.
Even after they have gone through all the trouble of breaking into someone's garage?
I can certainly see how a high security lock would put an opportunist thief off but I'm not so sure about a determined one.
The reason the OP resolved the lost key issue relatively easily without having to resort to buying specialist tools is because of the lock's relative low quality.
Alarming the garage perhaps and using fairly low quality locks sounds more useful than using locks which prove almost impossible to cut.
Cable locks will only deter the most opportunistic thief. They’re perfect to whip through with sharpened bolt cutters because you can easily position them in the jaws.
Was walking to lunch the other day just in time to watch some scroat steal a moped cropping the cable lock in the train station car park. He'd obviously bypassed the ignition first. Owner had a D-lock but had just used it to join the two ends of the cable lock together. All that was left was the D-lock and two bits of cable lock on the ground. Very brazen theft, surrounded by people, he didn't GAS who saw him steal it and nearly knocked over a couple riding off on it...
Even after they have gone through all the trouble of breaking into someone’s garage?
99% of garages can be broken into, pretty much silently, in a handful of seconds.
Even ones with "heightened security" don't take long.
Very brazen theft
Out for a run one time, down the canal towpath. This dodgy-looking bloke stops me, "hey mate, is there anyone in that boat over there?"
I've no idea, sorry.
"Right. Only, I'm going to rob it."
in a handful of seconds.
I make that 5 seconds!
Yup, that's about right for an up and over with a shitty cable lock.
in a handful of seconds
I make that 5 seconds
Clearly you’ve never been to Bacup
6? 7? Possibly more…
Hammer the d lock back into shape and it should work.
20 seconds leaning on it in the vice and it's good as new!
but given that most thieves are opportunists, rather than pro’s
That may or not to true depending on definitions and stuff but I think most "decent" bikes stolen are increasingly hit by pro's.
To be honest, I think if someone turns up with an angle grinder then all bets are off anyway, whatever the lock is.
You can cut through a alloy or carbon frame in a few seconds with a hacksaw not that much longer for a steel frame .. or take off 80% of the value with a couple of Allen keys... and perhaps T25..
"good as new" is doing some heavy lifting there. 😁
Where was the key?
I park my bikes in central Glasgow quite a lot. Usually while I am having a pint. I tend to choose places where there is a window letting me see the bike though. So it only needs to stop the thief long enough for me to get to him.
But I am parking for relatively short periods of time in busy areas. Back when I dealt with thefts of bike reports in the Glasgow area most were either unlocked, stolen from sheds or garages, or locked in a common close where the thief had plenty time to work on the lock unseen. Talking typicaL value non flashy bikes. High end MTBs all bets off.
I've only once seen someone tampering with my bike whilst I was having a drink. Rocked the bike and saw it was locked to a fence then took my front light instead and started walking off. I did an Alan Wells and got my light back without any argument.
